The Griffin type tackle is tolerated in England and the rest of the UK & Ireland but virtually nowhere else.
The crowd here still require the "get stuck in" culture from junior football but almost everywhere else that type of tackle would be at least a yellow. When England play in the finals of major tournaments they fail to appreciate that the emphasis has changed to protecting the player on the ball and encouraging clean but fair tackling. The skill goes out of tackling when players lunge for the ball.
Griffin won the ball cleanly having virtually thrown himself through the air with his studs up. Granted the QPR player wasn't endangered by the tackle but it's a wild lunge nonetheless. It wasn't dissimilar to Hunt's tackle in Prague, where although he clearly withdrew his leg from the tackle, he started with a wild dive at the ball. I defended Hunt on the basis that he took his leg away, Griffin landed short of the ball and stetched further with his studs up to make sure he got it. Yellow in my book with a harsh word that you can't dive at the ball.
Patrick Barclay wrote a good piece (broadly agreeing with OF and me on this point) in today's Sunday Telegraph. He said an ex-international friend of his thought there was nothing wrong with Taylor's tackle from last week. I agree there was no malice but lunges with studs facing up are not tolerated in the better footballing cultures. The "get stuck in brigade" then go and say the usual "but you can't have a game without tackling" which is miles off the real point.
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